The Wasp Factory

Author: Iain Banks

ISBN: 978-0349101774

You may very well hate this book. But you will never forget it.

Reviewed by Robert Markham ( Markham )

I was given The Wasp Factory as a gift many years ago. As I always do when I receive a book as a gift, I asked a few questions about it. The person who had given it to me said "Oh, I haven't read it really. I read a page of it when I was at Uni and it frightened the hell out of me."

A very good review to give a horror fan like myself. But The Wasp Factory isn't really a horror novel. It's horrific, don't get me wrong. There are moments when you may feel physically sick whilst reading, and the images painted for the reader are so vivid and terrifying in places that you will never be able to forget them.

It's hard to describe what kind of novel The Wasp Factory is. It's a journey, as the main character waits for the arrival of a family member, who should not be coming at all. It's a search for knowledge. It's the unearthing of deep, dark family secrets. It's a tale of maturity and growing up. Above all, it's a deftly written novel, by an extraordinary storyteller.

I believe this is Iain Banks' first novel away from science fiction, and it was received with a mix of praise and disgust. That isn't surprising. His characters are all skillfully drawn and deciding how you feel about them is a very difficult task, such is the complexity of the family at the centre of the story. The main character is very likeable despite being an incredibly disturbed and scary individual, but that only serves to add to the layers Banks manages to create.

Beneath the darkness and the horror, the murders and the animal torture, you will find warmth, humour, love and affection in the strangest of places.

Like I said, you may very well hate this book (I know plenty of people that do), but you will never be able to forget it. For me that marks The Wasp Factory as a truly great novel, and it remains one of my all time favourites.

You have been warned. But read it anyway.

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